My hear seriously just sunk in my chest. The biggest sports name in Wisconsin and the best quarterback I’ll see in my lifetime – Brett Favre – is retiring after 17 seasons, according to ESPN.

I was hoping that after last week’s accidental retirement page on the team’s Web site that Brett would come back for another season, and most sports talking heads thought he would. But it turns out the Pack will be under the relatively untested and far more breakable hand of Aaron Rodgers next season.

I know Favre doesn’t get a lot of love from Viking fans, but the man is a living legend and arguably one of the best players of all time. While I’m not going to get all choked up and say that this day is a travesty (he’s old, after all, and it’s been coming for a few years now), I will say that I’m going to miss the gunslinger who led the Pack to the most success they’ve had in decades, and who brought them back from the brink to compete for a shot at the Super Bowl last season.

Where does the team go now? Well, I think Rodgers is a lot better than he was when the Packers drafted him several years ago, and he’s probably ready to take over the helm. Will he be as good? Absolutely not – at least not right away. The team may struggle to make it back to the championship game next season, but the Pack have one of the youngest teams in the league, and they’re well stocked for the future.

So I guess this is goodbye Brett Favre. Thanks for the memories.